in case you missed it | Put GMOs on 2012 ballot

Put GMOs on 2012 ballot

For those who’ve been attended meetings and hearings regarding Boulder County’s cropland policy, the word “frustrated” doesn’t begin to cut it. After receiving public input that was overwhelmingly opposed to permitting genetically modified (GM) crops on county land, the Cropland Policy Advisory Group voted 6-3 to recommend that the county allow GM crops. Many were left with the feeling that the board had decided the issue before it even convened.

Right now, the county commissioners are set to decide the matter sometime in early 2012. But rather than leaving the decision up to three people, why not put GMOs on the 2012 county ballot and let the voters decide?

Obviously, the issue is highly charged, and highly charged issues make politicians nervous. A vote of the people is one way to be certain exactly how Boulder County feels about GMOs — and might be the only way to see the majority’s will enacted on county land.

Milton Greedman

Came across this video clip of Phil Donahue interviewing economist Milton Friedman. Even though it was recorded more than 30 years ago, old Milt makes some points that are relevant today, in the age of the Occupy movement.

Phil Donahue: “When you see, around the globe, the maldistribution of wealth, the desperate plight of millions of people in underdeveloped countries, when you
see so few haves and so many havenots, when you see the greed and the
concentration of power, did you ever have a moment of doubt about
capitalism and whether greed is a good idea to run on?” Milton Friedman:
“First of all, is there some society you know that doesn’t run on
greed? You think Russia doesn’t run on greed?

You think China doesn’t run on greed? What is greed? … The world runs
on individuals pursuing their separate interests. The great achievements
of civilization have not come from government bureaus. Einstein did not
construct his theory under order from a bureaucrat. Henry Ford didn’t
revolutionize the auto mobile industry that way. The only cases in which
the masses have escaped from the kind of grinding poverty you’re
talking about, the only cases in recorded history, are where they had
capitalism and largely free trade.”

Well,
we’re seeing another way, good ol’ Milt, and that’s when a democratic
system gets too top-heavy — too greedy, for lack of a better word — and
the people rise up to exercise their right to take back their power and
reform their corporate-controlled political system.

Dog to lead Occupy Denver

That was a brilliant move by Occupy Denver, when they finally acquiesced to pressure from government officials to choose a leader to represent the group.

They chose Shelby, a border collie. The group announced the selection on Nov. 8, saying in a news release that they drew inspiration from the notion that corporations are people.

“Shelby is closer to a person than any corporation: She can bleed, she can breed, and she can show emotion,” an anonymous member of the movement said in the release. “Either Shelby is a person, or corporations aren’t people.”

And then there was this, which is rich and speaks for itself: “Occupy Denver reserves the right to alter leadership status, but for now, Shelby exhibits heart, warmth and an appreciation for the group over personal ambition that Occupy Denver members feel are sorely lacking in the leaders some of them have voted for on national, state and local levels,” the release said.